DANBURY, Conn. - The Western Connecticut State University Wolves advanced to the Little East Conference (LEC) Men's Soccer Championship Semifinals with a 2-1 victory over the visiting University of Southern Maine Huskies at Westside Athletic Complex this afternoon.  No. 3-seeded WestConn improves to 13-4-3 and will face No. 2-seeded Keene State on the road in the semifinals on Thursday.  The victory was the 100th win for WestConn Head Coach Joe Mingachos (8th Season) as the Wolves head men's soccer coach.  Mingachos is 100-37-13 with the WestConn men after serving as the Wolves' head women's soccer coach from 1997 to 2105.  No. 6-seeded Southern Maine closes the year at 4-10-5.

Both offenses started slowly, although WestConn nearly scored twice on headers off early corner kicks, one by junior Kaden Talho (Waterbury, Conn.) in the ninth minute and another by senior Franz Muhaj (Bridgeport, Conn.) in the 23rd minute.  Southern Maine junior Vincent Anderson fired a shot just over the cross bar 10:02 into the game.  The Wolves took a 1-0 lead with 14:49 remaining in the first half when a foul in the box by the Huskies gave the home team a penalty kick that junior midfielder Daniel Russo (Trumbull, Conn.) drilled into the upper lef corner of the net.  WestConn sophomore goalkeeper Zachary Benson (Milford, Conn.) made the only save for either team late in the first half to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.

The Wolves kept up the offensive pressure in the second stanza, as Huskies goalie Simon Gabaree had two make his first two stops on shots by WestConn sophomore back Filipe Dutra (Naugatuck, Conn.), rookie Jeffrey Norales (Bronx, N.Y.) missed just wide with a header in the 58th minute, and Talho hit the near post while streaking down the right side in the 61st minute.  WestConn sophomore forward Maximus Vigo (Canton, Mich.) broke through with a one-timer from senior back George Cortes (Fairfield, Conn.) to make it, 2-0, with 22:53 on the clock.  Wolves midfielder Marc Kyriakidis (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) was also credited with an assist on the play.

Southern Maine cut its deficit in half in the 75th minute when Cole Johnson received a pass from Will Smith with his back to the goal and quickly turned and shot low and to Benson's right to make the score, 2-1.  Neither team put a shot on goal the rest of the way, however, and the score stayed the same after 90 minutes.  The Wolves finished with a 17-to-5 shooting advantage and had nine corner kicks to one for the Huskies.  The game was physical with eight yellow cards handed out evenly.  The teams had played to a 1-1 tie in Danbury 10 days ago but had never met in the post-season prior to today.  WestConn will be making its first trip to Keene on Thursday, having played the Owls to a scoreless draw at home on September 16.